Wolves howled the night of Jan. 3, and Ted Birdseye hopped on his all-terrain vehicle to check on the 200 cattle on the family's ranch south of Prospect.

His wife, Ariel, also heard what sounded like cattle under attack. After about an hour of searching, the Birdseyes didn't see much except for some spooked cows in the pastures.

The next morning, the 64-year-old rancher found it: A dead 500-pound heifer he'd intended on breeding. Later that day, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife officials would say the calf was killed by a wolf, the first confirmed livestock attack by one of the predators in Oregon this year.

The attack comes as the state's fish and wildlife commission has yet to decide on an updated plan for managing the canid species as it continues to rebound and expand across the state after nearly being wiped out in the 1940s.

Key details, such as when and how lethal action will be allowed in certain areas of the state, remain unclear. The commission is now expected to vote on a plan in April after delaying a decision in December.

Meanwhile, wolves continue to expand their territory in rural parts of the state. At least three collared wolves have been illegally killed in southwest and south-central Oregon since October 2016, prompting multiple investigations and rewards of up to $50,000 for information about the animals' deaths.

The kill on the Birdseye ranch marks the first confirmed attack on livestock by the Rogue Pack, home to the legendary wandering wolf OR-7, since 2016.

In 2017, wildlife biologists placed a tracking collar on OR-54, a female descendent of OR-7. The pack is believed to be traveling with five pups and six older animals, according to state officials.

Wildlife biologists observed fresh tracks around the kill site and GPS coordinates placed OR-54 within one mile of the ranch the morning after the attack.

For the Birdseyes, the attack is the most tangible evidence they are living in wolf country since the couple moved to the 276-acre property in Jackson County, about 43 miles northeast of Medford, two years ago.

Birdseye, a southern Oregon native whose ancestors settled in the area in the 1860s, says he's seen several wolves during the past two years. Three months ago, he saw two wolves in his pasture at about 4 a.m. The cattle were shaking, he said, and were standing "in a perfect wedge" shape facing the predators.

Birdseye fired his rifle into the air above the wolves.

That's about the most he can do, he said.

In western Oregon, wolves remain protected by the federal Endangered Species Act, unlike areas of eastern Oregon where the animals can be killed if they are repeatedly attacking livestock or if a rancher catches the animal in the act of attacking cows or sheep. Birdseye said he can't do that.

"If I see a wolf attacking one of my animals I can't do anything about it," he said.

Birdseye, who sits on Jackson County's wolf compensation committee, says he expects to be compensated for the lost animal. "I'll write it off in my taxes," he said, "probably 500 bucks or 800 bucks if I get really lucky."

He's been working closely with state and federal wildlife officers to install non-lethal deterrents on the ranch to scare away the animals.

He had fladry, colorful fabric hung on fences, to try and keep wolves away. But Birdseye said he took it down the day of the attack because it was not functioning properly.

He also has bright strobe lights that go off at night, and has situated horses on the perimeter of fence line to dissuade wolves from entering his fields.

Birdseye said he's not "the typical wolf-hating rancher," adding that he has a "major fascination with the animal."

But he is wondering what happens now that the animals have a taste for his cattle.

What happens next? "That's the question," he said.

Wildlife crews are coming back to his property Wednesday to put up more fladry.